Despite Omicron’s lower virulence, hospitals fear they will be overwhelmed by Sciensano’s epidemiological forecasts.
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Covid patient in intensive care at the Center Hospitalier Régional de la Citadelle in Liège, December 21, 2021 @BelgaImage
The health sector, in consultation with Federal Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke, is preparing an emergency plan with different phases. That way, he hopes to be somewhat prepared for the Omicron wave in hospitals. Margot Cloet, Managing Director of Zorgnet Icuro (the Flemish umbrella organization of hospitals), calls for not wasting time. “Peak hospital admissions are expected within two weeks, so we should start drastically reducing [nos autres activités, ndlr] next week“. In this way, some concerns could be carried forward again. In the meantime, the government is also working on continuity plans with the social partners.
A limited number of beds
The virologist Steven Van Gucht announced Thursday at the end of the Consultation Committee that the Sciensano health institute expects a peak in the number of hospitalizations by the end of January from 400 to 1,300 per day. In a worst-case scenario, hospitals would soon run into problems, as there are currently only about 7,000 beds available, Cloet says.
In this scenario, just like in the first wave, the hospitals would be largely closed and it would even be necessary to sort out what would still be processed. This is why Cloet reiterates its call for a political orientation framework which must also be communicated very clearly to the population. “In this way, there is an unequivocal way of making the decisions, even if ultimately it is the doctor who remains responsible.She says. In any case, there is not much room for staff anymore, because hospitals are already facing a significant staff dropout.
Action plan under development
According to the director of Zorgnet-Icuro, there is therefore no time to waste. The emergency plan should therefore already be drawn up before the next consultation committee, even if Cloet hopes that the worst-case scenario will not ultimately become a reality.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is now examining the “business continuity»With the Ministers of Labor, Health, Self-Employed Workers and the Interior. Employers and the National Crisis Center are also seated around the table. These discussions will continue in the coming days. Together, they want to ensure proper follow-up of absences and update the continuity plans on which companies are already working. The intention is that the Group of Ten, together with the government, will soon address the problem.
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